1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to hearing prostheses, and more particularly, the optimizing operational control of the hearing prosthesis.
2. Related Art
Hearing prostheses come in a wide variety of devices which provide hearing assistance to partially deaf and profoundly deaf users. Examples of hearing prostheses include various configurations of external devices such as behind-the-ear (BTE), in-the-ear (ITE), In-the-canal (ITC), mini in-the-canal (MIC) completely in-the-canal (CIC), and so-called Open-fit devices. Other hearing prostheses include implantable devices such as middle ear implants, bone conduction devices, brainstem implants, cochlear implants and devices that include more than one type of hearing prosthesis such as electro-acoustic hearing prostheses which include a cochlear implant and hearing aid.
A typical cochlear implant has many parameters the values of which determine the configuration of the device. For example, the value of the parameters may define which sound processing algorithm and recipient-preferred functions within a sound processor are to be implemented. Each recipient is unique, requiring customization of some parameters such as Threshold (T) and Comfort (C) levels during fitting to provide optimal speech understanding for each recipient. Other parameters may be freely adjusted by the recipient via a user interface, usually for improving comfort or audibility dependant on the current listening environment, situation or prosthesis configuration. An example of this type of parameter is a sound processor “sensitivity” setting, which is usually turned up in quiet environments or down in loud environments. Depending on which features are available in each device and how a sound processor is configured, the recipient is usually able to select between a number of different settings for certain parameters. These settings are generally provided in the form of a number of selectable programs or program parameters stored in device memory. The act of selecting can often be a difficult task, because recipients (or carriers) do not always understand or know which settings to use in a particular sound environment, situation or system configuration. Furthermore, some user interfaces can be physically difficult for recipients to use, due to control or display sizes, for example.
In a cochlear implant system, a sound processing unit is processing at least one audio signal received by at least one audio input transducer to the system (for example a microphone, telecoil or auxiliary input). The sound processing unit can be externally worn or implanted, or a combination of both. At any one time, the implantee is immersed in a particular sound environment. The sound processing unit is processing that sound according to the rules of a particular, current algorithm or program. When the implantee moves into a different sound environment, the current algorithm or settings of the sound processing unit may not be suitable for this new environment. It is up to the implantee to manually determine and then select the appropriate sound processor settings which are best optimized for the new sound environment. While this selection is not readily intuitive or easy to understand, it is often a problem that the implantee makes the incorrect selection, thereby compromising their speech intelligibility or comfort.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,910,013 discloses a hearing device intended to address some of the issues noted above. The device provides what is called, “Auditory Scene Analysis”, which essentially analyses the input audio signal to the device. The analysis attempts to classify the current sound environment in which the user is located. On the basis of the analysis, an optimal setting for operating the hearing device is automatically selected and implemented. While this method overcomes the complication involved in selecting an optimal setting, it is noted that the method can provide a number of undesirable practical problems. Firstly, it should be appreciated that the type of Auditory Scene Analysis proposed is not, in practice, perfect and may not, in fact, prompt the automatic selection and implementation of the setting which is optimal to the particular user. From the perspective of a user, the optimal settings can be a subjective issue depending upon a user's preferences. The Auditory Scene Analysis is inevitably conducting an objective assessment which is not guaranteed to result in the same selection of settings as those preferred by the user or which the user finds comfortable. Hence, the feature can become frustrating to a user. Furthermore, in the fully automated method of U.S. Pat. No. 6,910,013, the analysis is continuously repeating, which can cause the continuous change of implemented settings as the analysis sees fit. The change of settings can be readily perceived by a user. If the change occurs too frequently, the user can experience disorientation and/or discomfort. It is an object of the present invention to provide an alternative method and device for optimizing the control of a hearing prosthesis in different situations.